I Followed You
by The Fuzz 15
Summary: I've followed you everywhere without complaint. Please, just this once, walk next to me. Sasuke, Sakura, and the realization that sometimes, you weren't supposed to be the savior


**Title: I Followed You**

**Prompt: Shadow**

**Rating: T?**

**Author: Fuzzy1594**

**Summary: Sasuke decided to take Sakura with him when she offered. She goes and hopes that she can pull him from the darkness he's headed into.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

_Down Down Down_

She felt as though day by day she was being pulled farther and farther away from the light and the world she used to know...

_Down Down Down_

The feeling was suffocating and cold. She felt number with each day that passed. She couldn't keep living like this...

_Down Down Down_

This needed to end.

XXX

Sakura trudge quietly behind Sasuke. Her pack was beginning to dig uncomfortably into her shoulders. She tried to readjust the pack to make it more comfortable, but it was a lost cause. She sighed tiredly.

"Sasuke-kun, where are we going?" Sakura asked exasperated.

He didn't respond and kept moving forward.

"You really never do tell me anything," Sakura muttered under her breath.

She didn't know why Sasuke had actually allowed her to come with him. She was surprised when he had taken her up on her offer. Maybe he needed her for comfort? Maybe a hand to hold through rough situations?

Sakura shook her head quickly. Sasuke had his own reasons for allowing her to come and she could bet they weren't for comfort. She smiled anyway, the love of her life was allowing her to follow him no matter where he went. And she would follow him, to hell and back if necessary.

She stopped when Sasuke did at the top of the hill they had been climbing. Four ninja stood before them each with a purple belt around their waists.

She took a deep breath. She knew the life she was choosing by deciding to go with Sasuke. She could pull him out of the darkness he was walking towards.

She knew she could.

XXX

She paced the room she was in. She wouldn't be surprised if she started making a hole in the ground she had been pacing for so long. She was nervous, that much was true. She turned to Sasuke and saw that he was lying casually on a cot that had been assigned to him. It was easy for him to be casual, Orochimaru had invited him to come. Orochimaru did not, however, know that Sasuke would be bringing "some girl" with him.

She was currently waiting to hear if Orochimaru would allow her to stay.

"Stop," Sasuke said simply. Sakura did as commanded and sat on a chair in the room. She started drumming her fingers on the chair and tapped her foot rapidly on the floor.

The door opened and Sakura was instantly on her feet. Kabuto entered the room casually and looked directly at Sakura. "Congratulations, Orochimaru-sama has decided not to kill you."

Sakura allowed herself to feel a little less nervous. Kabuto had not, however, told her if she was allowed to stay or not.

"He has also decided, because of your chakra control, that you will be my apprentice and learn about medical-ninjutsu," Kabuto continued.

Sakura let out the breath she had been holding and felt herself finally relax. She wasn't entirely excited about studying under Kabuto, but if it allowed her to stay with Sasuke she would take it.

"Allow me to show you to your room," Kabuto said pleasantly and escorted Sakura out of the room. Sakura turned and looked at Sasuke with an uncertain smile on her face. He was still lying casually on his cot.

XXX

Sakura sighed as she scratched her kunai across the floor for possibly the two hundredth time in fifteen minutes. It was a sloppy rate she had to admit, but she wasn't really paying attention to what she was doing. She was staring at the wall in front of her blankly.

Fifteen minutes seemed to have been an eternity.

Her door opened and a man walked casually in. Sakura sprang to her feet and held the kunai in front of her in defense.

"What were my last words to you when we left Konoha," Sakura asked as Sasuke walked further into the room.

"If you can't, then take me with you," Sasuke responded easily. Sakura let out a breath as she dropped her arms.

She ran towards him and wrapped her arms around him. He didn't return the hug, but she was okay with that.

"You did it," she whispered into her shoulder. "You did it."

She could feel Sasuke nod and she pulled away.

"Now what?" Sakura asked. "Will Kabuto come after you?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I already saw Kabuto, and he didn't do anything."

"So, are we staying?" Sakura asked not expecting a 'yes.'

Sasuke shook his head. "We're going to gather a team and hunt down Itachi."

Sakura nodded her head. She had expected this. Itachi had been Sasuke's one goal, even after all of these years. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind him as he left the room.

Everytime Sasuke wanted her to go somewhere with him he would grab her wrist and pull her behind him.

He would never ask her to follow him.

And he would never take her hand.

XXX

If she wasn't careful, pacing was going to become a skill set of hers. Karin glared at her, as was her usual facial expression for Sakura. Sakura ignored her and continued to pace.

"_If he beats Itachi then we'll finally go home. If he beats Itachi then we'll finally go home,"_ Sakura thought repeatedly to herself like a mantra. Everything they had done had been building up to this. This was the final battle before they could finally go home. She had been praying for this day every day since they had first left.

She couldn't bring herself to think about the other possible outcome of the battle.

XXX

Sakura practically burst into the room they told her Sasuke was in. The plant guy had told them that the fight was over and that Sasuke had won. He also said that they would have to go with Kisame and himself.

As soon as they got to their destination Sakura ran in the direction they had indicated to. She was excited. They could _finally _go home!

She saw Sasuke staring blankly at the wall in front of him.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed when she saw him. She sprinted towards him and landed on her knees in front of him. She grabbed his hands and began rubbing them. "Are you okay? Did they heal you? Are you injured anywhere. Oh, gosh, look at you. You look as though you're half dead!"

Sasuke blinked and focused on her as if just realizing she was in the room.

"What happened?" Sakura asked him placing a hand on his face and noticing it was wet. His battle had been nearly an hour and a half ago, all his wound were bandaged, and the room was relatively cool; he couldn't be sweating.

Before she could look any closer, Sasuke was suddenly kissing her as if his life depended on it. Sakura was shocked and happy all at one time. What had happened in the battle to make him act like this? She couldn't really bring herself to care too much at the moment. She hadn't been this happy in a long time The boy she had loved for years was kissing her as if he actually needed her in his life and they could go home after three years. She felt something wet dripping on her face and opened her eyes.

Sasuke was crying.

Suddenly something in her broke.

She put her hands on his chest and began pushing him.

"Sasuke-" she was cut off as he began kissing her again. She pushed him harder and he began kissing her cheek and neck instead. "Stop it. Sasuke-kun."

She managed to get away from him and took his head in her hands. "Sasuke-kun, _what on earth happened?_" Sakura asked.

He suddenly broke down and put his head on her chest like he had in the forest of death.

Sakura felt Sasuke's tears through her shirt. She was almost certain he could feel her tears on his head.

She was a fool for ever believing they would be going home.

XXX

Sakura sat on the rocks at the beach they were at. She was staring at Sasuke's back as he stood in front of the waves. He had told her everything Madara had told him. She didn't know if she believed it. Itachi could have been good, but she didn't think Madara was as innocent as he had made himself sound.

They were all waiting for Sasuke's next plan of action and Sakura could see the possibility of ever going home fading away.

"The destruction of Konoha," she heard Sasuke say.

She put her head to her knees and let tears free fall. A choice between her village and Sasuke was something she had never wanted to make. She had believed for so many years that she could steer him off the path of revenge, but instead she had followed him down it.

She knew she wasn't with Sasuke for no reason. There would eventually come a time when he needed Sakura there and she just had to wait for that day.

She put her hand to her lips and and felt the tears fall a little faster. She knew the kiss had meant nothing to him. It was just a way to cope with everything he had just heard. It was a way some people dealt with shock. If it had been Karin in the room he would have done the same thing.

And as shallow as it made her feel, she knew that was what hurt the most.

XXX

Sakura flinched as she saw Danzo fall lifeless to the ground. This had to stop. She wasn't going to stand by anymore and just let Sasuke live like this. The darkness had consumed him and Sakura knew she wasn't going to be able to pull him out.

She leapt to the ground to Karin's side. They may not have had the best relationship, but no one deserved to die like this. The familiar healing chakra covered Sakura's hand and she brought it to Karin's chest.

"Sakura," she heard Sasuke command, but she ignored him. This was it.

She felt Sasuke roughly grab her forearm and pull her away from Karin. Sakura used a chakra infused hand and slapped Sasuke across the cheek.

"Let go of me," she commanded. The permanent glare on Sasuke's face intensified as he tightened his hold on Sakura's arm. "Let go of me," she said again beginning to pry his hand from her arm.

"We're leaving," Sasuke said.

"I'm healing her," Sakura responded.

"We're leaving," Sasuke said again.

Sakura yanked her arm away again and began healing Karin again. Sasuke grabbed her by the hair and began pulling her backwards. She felt tears sting her eyes from the sensation. Her hair had grown longer again in the past three years. She grabbed a kunai and cut her hair just like she had done all those years ago.

She crawled away from Sasuke and began healing Karin again. "Sakura," she heard Sasuke growl.

She closed her eyes and let the tears free fall.

"I'm not going with you," Sakura managed to say.

"Yes you are," Sasuke said. "You don't have a choice."

Sakura shook her head. "I've always had the choice of staying by your side. I can't follow you anymore Sasuke." She wondered vaguely to herself when she had stopped calling him Sasuke-kun. "You're going down a path that I can't follow anymore."

"Sakura."

"I'm sorry. I love you too much to watch you do this to yourself, Sasuke. I'm going home. I'm begging you for this one thing, please, come home with me. Not as an enemy, but as a prodigal son. _Please._"

Sasuke shook his head and Sakura let out a scream.

"I've followed you everywhere since we were twelve! I've never complained, I've never asked questions, and I've never stopped staying with you even when no one else would. So, just this one time I'm asking you to walk beside me and come home with me. Forget this path of evil you're on! It will never stop, you'll always need someone to blame and you'll never be happy!"

Sasuke glared at her and looked as though he would kill her at any moment.

"_Please_, Sasuke," Sakura begged. "Please..."

Sasuke walked slowly towards her and slapped her across the face. Sakura's head followed the strike and stayed facing to the side. She closed her eyes and let more tears fall when she felt a warm hand grab her face and directed it forward. She looked Sasuke in the eye, hoping to see some sort of hope there.

She saw nothing.

He brought her face to his and kissed her for the second time. Sakura kissed him back as if it was her only way to get him to come with her. She had tried words for years now and found they weren't working, so maybe this was the only way to get him back into the sunlight.

She wasn't entirely sure how long they kissed each other, but when they pulled apart she felt on edge waiting for the response he had to give.

"I can't walk beside you," Sasuke answered. "Not yet."

Sakura sank to her knees and watched brokenly as Sasuke walked towards Madara.

"Sasuke!" she heard a familiar voice call out behind her. She turned and saw a familiar yellow-haired face come into view.

Maybe she wasn't meant to be the one to pull him out of the shadows after all.


End file.
